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You have your heart set on that hot new sport coupe but the monthly payments for the auto loan just won’t fit in your budget. The salesman sighs sympathetically, and then says, “I have an idea of how to make this work.”

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He recommends you extend the auto loan to 72- or 84-months. He explains that your down payment would remain the same but your monthly payment is lower. As he talks, you begin to picture the coupe in your garage and showing it off to your friends.

But wait just a second! Cancel the daydreams. Long car loan terms are setting you up for a “vicious cycle of negative equity,” says car buying concierge Oren Weintraub, president of AuthorityAuto.com.

If you wonder where you stand with your own auto loan, check our car loan calculator at the end of this article. Doing so, might even convince you that refinancing your car loan would be a good idea. But first, here are a few stats to show you why 72- and 84-month car loans rob you of financial stability and waste your money.

Alarming car buying statistics

Auto loans over 60 months are not the best way to finance a car because, for one thing, they carry higher car loan interest rates. Yet 38% of new-car buyers in the first quarter of 2019 took out loans of 61 to 72 months, according to Experian. More alarmingly, Experian’s data shows 32% of car shoppers are signing loans for between 73 and 84 months — that’s from six to seven years, folks.

“To close the deal, [car dealers] need to offer a payment that is comfortable,” Weintraub says. “Instead of reducing the sale price of the car, they extend the loan.” However, he adds that most dealers probably don’t reveal how that can change the interest rate and create other long-term financial problems for the buyer.

Used-car financing is following a similar pattern, with potentially worse results. Experian reveals that 42.1% of used-car shoppers are taking 61- to 72-month loans while 20% go even longer, financing between 73 and 84 months.

If you bought a 3-year-old car, and took out an 84-month loan, it would be 10 years old when the loan was finally paid off.

If you bought a 3-year-old car, and took out an 84-month loan, it would be 10 years old when the loan was finally paid off. Try to imagine how you’d feel making loan payments on a battered 10-year-old heap.

Long loan terms are yet another tool the dealer has to put you into a car because they focus you on the monthly payment, not the overall cost. But, just because you could qualify for these long loans doesn’t mean you should take them.

5 reasons to buck the long-loan trend

1. You are “underwater” immediately. Underwater, or upside down, means you owe more to the lender than the car is worth.

Select the shortest loan term available so you quickly build equity in the vehicle.

“Ideally, consumers should go for the shortest length auto loan that they can afford,” says Jesse Toprak, CEO of CarHub.com. “The shorter the loan length, the quicker the equity buildup in your car.”

If you have equity in your car it means you could trade it in or sell it at any time and pocket some cash.

2. It sets you up for a negative equity cycle. Say you have to trade in the car before a 72-month loan is paid off. Even after giving you credit for the value of the trade-in, you could still owe, for example, $4,000.

“A dealer will find a way to bury that four grand in the next loan,” Weintraub says. “And then that money could even be rolled into the next loan after that.” Each time, the loan gets larger and your debt increases.

Not only that, but Edmunds data show that when consumers agree to a longer loan they apparently decide to borrow more money, indicating that they are buying a more expensive car, including extras like warranties or other products, or simply paying more for the same car.

When financing with term lengths from 61 to 66 months, the average amount financed was $29,591 and the interest rate was 4.1%, bringing the monthly payment to $512. But when a car buyer agrees to stretch the loan to 67 to 72 months, the average amount financed was $33,238 and the interest rate jumped to 6.6%. This gave the buyer a monthly payment of $556.

4. You’ll be shelling out for repairs and loan payments. A 6- or 7-year-old car will likely have over 75,000 miles on it. A car this old will definitely need tires, brakes and other expensive maintenance — let alone unexpected repairs.

With a long loan term you could have to pay for repairs, while still making car payments.

Can you meet the $550 average loan payment cited by Experian, and pay for the car’s upkeep? If you bought an extended warranty, that would push the monthly payment even higher.

5. Look at all the extra interest you’ll pay.

Interest is money down the drain. It isn’t even tax-deductible. So take a long hard look at what extending the loan costs you. Plugging Edmunds’ averages into an auto loan calculator, a person financing the $27,615 car at 2.8% for 60 months will pay a total of $2,010 in interest. The person who moves up to a $30,001 car and finances for 72 months at the average rate of 6.4% pays triple the interest, a whopping $6,207.

So what’s a car buyer to do? There are ways to get the car you want and finance it responsibly.

4 strategies to turn the tables on long loans

1. Use low APR loans to increase cash flow for investing. CarHub’s Toprak says the only time to take a long loan is when you can get it at a very low APR. For example, Toyota has offered 72-month loans on some models at 0.9%. So instead of tying up your money by making a large down payment on a 60-month loan and making high monthly payments, use the money you free up for investments, which could yield a higher return.

2. Refinance your bad loan. If your emotions take over, and you sign a 72-month loan for that sport coupe, all’s not lost. Assuming your credit is good, you may be able to refinance your auto loan at better terms without an early payment penalty or fees.

3. Make a large down payment to prepay the depreciation. If you do decide to take out a long loan, you can avoid being underwater by making a large down payment. If you do that, you can trade out of the car without having to roll negative equity into the next loan.

4. Lease instead of buy. If you really want that sport coupe and can’t afford to buy it, you can probably lease for less money upfront and lower monthly payments. This is an option Weintraub will occasionally suggest to his clients, especially since there are some great leasing deals, he says. Then, if you still want the car at the end of the lease, you have the right to buy it at an amount stated in the contract called the “residual value.”

Now that you understand the damage caused by long loan terms and the unneeded expense of high interest rates, take a moment to look at your car loan. Use our car loan calculator to find out how much you still owe and how much you could save by refinancing.

Making the right auto loan decision will help you and your family enjoy a stress-free life and prepare for the future. To review the basics of car financing, take a look at How Much Should My Car Down Payment Be?

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